CEBU CITY -- Steel bar manufacturer
Worldwide Steel Group, Inc. has formed a property development unit to take
advantage of a booming real estate market fueled by demand from business
process outsourcing (BPO) here.

Worldwide Central Properties, Inc., with an initial capitalization of
P100 million, is also seen to complement the group’s businesses, said Alan Kent
Ong, company president. The group has been manufacturing and distributing steel
bars and other construction materials for 36 years.

“Our mission is to build communities.
We’re taking it a step further by not just providing construction materials but
also building homes for our customers,” Mr. Ong said in a briefing last week.

The firm’s first project will be a
two-tower residential condominium dubbed as Sundance Residences in Banawa,
Guadalupe, the most populous barangay in Cebu City.

Mr. Ong said he believed the real
estate boom in Cebu “will still continue for a few more years because of the
growing BPO industry, the housing backlog and increasing OFW (overseas Filipino
workers) remittances.”

Sharon Anne G. Ong, vice-president for
marketing and sales, said their first project will rise on a 3,200-square-meter
family-owned property in Banawa.

The first tower, estimated to cost
P450 million, will have 208 units in 12 storeys and a retail component.
Construction will start middle of next year and is targeted to be completed in
2015.

Ms. Ong said the units, which will be
priced starting at P1.8 million for a studio, will be designed for the middle
to upper middle class segments.

“We are looking at the second
generation of families living in the Banawa and Capitol area,” she said.

Amenities will include a pool, kiddie
pool, day care center, and a sky garden with fitness center and family
entertainment center on the 14th floor.

The project’s design team includes
architect Antonio Trillanes, Jr. for the condominium and furniture designer
Kenneth Cobonpue for amenities.

The company also plans to develop a
two-hectare property in Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan Island into a residential
subdivision. “This is still in the planning stage. But we’re looking at
(launching this) late next year,” Mr. Ong said.